Like Some Sort of Hippie, With the Flowers in His Hair
by Rowling Tolkin and Riordan
Summary: Max goes to Spooky Island for a break from David and gets a lesson in the language of flowers.
1. Chapter 1

Max stepped onto the shore of Spooky Island and pulled the end of the boat up to the dry land. That would hold it until he got back. He looked at the thick forest, slightly daunted by the darkness and loneliness of the whole situation. He just needed a break from David. That was why he was here. To get himself just lost enough that he felt good and lost, but could still find his way back to camp when he wanted to. He had picked Spooky Island because that was the last place David would think to look.

He took a breath and looked behind him, at the considerably more welcoming forest surrounding Camp Campbell. There was a split second where Max wanted to go back, but he was here now so he swallowed the desire and started walking into the woods.

The trees grew close together here, with room for mushrooms and some grass, but not much light. Well, really no light at all. It was warm and humid, but there were no bugs. The lack of things crawling on his skin made his skin crawl. The whole island didn't seem quite real. It hadn't felt real the first time he had been here, either. He took that as a sign that it was more real than anything across the lake.

He pressed on until he came across a path. It looked like it had been used a lot, fifty years ago. There was no grass and the dirt was hard, but there were leaves and dead things all over it. He looked both ways, then decided that either way would lead at least somewhere. Besides, he couldn't possibly find anything scarier than what they had seen in the basement of Campbell's mansion, and that was confined to the mansion. He hoped. No, he really didn't need that image in his head right now.

He kicked a dead squirrel to the side of the path and headed left. The weather and the creepiness of the island didn't seem to go together, but they far from negated each other. In fact, they almost amplified each other. The heat seemed hotter because he was expecting it to be cold. The dark seemed darker because he wanted it to be light.

After a few bends in the path, he got used to it all. The heat, the dark, the general creepiness, the feeling that someone was watching him; maybe even writing down everything he did for the entertainment of some sad little social outcast with no hope of real human interaction( _Please note that the views here are Max's own and do not reflect those of the author_ ). Eventually he even started to relax a little.

"Hey, Max. What's shakin'?"

Max jumped out of his skin and swore so loud he almost expected David to have heard him. He put a hand over his heart to make sure it didn't pound right out of his chest. "Jasper, what was that for?"

The ghost held up his hands as if that would protect him. He was grinning, though. "Chill, man! Saw you come over and thought you might want someone to talk to."

"Well, I don't. Especially not one who materializes in front of me with no warning in a place called _Spooky Island!_ You almost gave me a heart attack." Max walked right through Jasper and didn't even blink.

Jasper caught up with him a second later, but now there was a seriousness in his eyes.  
"I'm real sorry, man. Didn't mean to scare you like that, honest. I just… I'm just a kid, for Pete's sake. Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be at the camp?"

Max sighed. He figured he had no reason to lie to Jasper, and who would Jasper tell? The old people? Max pushed a branch aside and let it snap back into place when he passed. "When you were, you know, alive, was there anyone you just didn't like for no reason?"

The ghost floated beside him, not even bothering to walk. "No, not that I can think of. I know Davy didn't like me, but that was before… before…"

"Before you died?"

Jasper sighed and his shoulders dropped. "No. I was alive for quite a while after… Cambell got us lost and I almost got killed by a bear."

"Yeah, David told me the story."

"David? Like, Davy David? He's still around?"

Max shrugged. "Yeah. He's a counselor now. Happiest guy I ever met. Most annoying, too."

Jasper stuck his hands into his pockets and looked at the ground. "So, that's why you're here? Because Davy gets on your nerves? He's a good kid, just give him a chance."

They walked in silence for a while, and as the silence went on, the pressure to say something increased. Eventually, Max couldn't take it anymore. He snapped a branch off of a tree and broke it in half. "This is boring!"

"Well, do you want to stop for a while? My secret spot is really close to here. I could… I could show you where it is." Jasper smiled a little, but it was the kind of smile that made Max's chest hurt. Genuine. It was a genuine smile, one that was fighting the darkness and winning.

He couldn't violate this kid's secret hiding place like this. He stopped walking and just stared at Jasper. "No, that's okay."

"Really, you should come." Jasper reached out to take Max's hand, but he just passed through it. He looked into his eyes again. "Max, it's fine. I really only call it my 'secret spot' because the old people don't know about it. I don't think even Campbell knows about it. It would be nice to have someone to share it with."

There was something about the way he said it that broke Max's heart. It hit him just how alone this kid really was. He hadn't had anyone to talk to since the early two thousands at best. "If it means that much to you, I'll come."

Jasper nodded and pointed off through the trees, walking forward and letting his finger lead. "It's right over here."

A few minutes later, Max and Jasper were standing in a quiet little clearing with sunlight filtering through the leaves and flowers on the ground. "Wow, are you sure we're still on Spooky Island?"

Jasper laughed, then sat on the grass. "Hard to believe, I know. I found this just after I died, and it made me feel safe again."

Max sat beside him and looked around. It really did feel safe. He felt like he could tell Jasper anything in this place and no one could tell him he was wrong or somehow at fault. He glanced at the ghost and had to smile a little.

Jasper had gathered a few flowers from the ground and started to weave them together while he talked. "It was a miracle, really. I had waited so long for my life to end, and then it was over and I still couldn't leave. I don't know what I would do if I hadn't found this place. But enough about me, tell me about Davy."

Max leaned against a tree and folded his hands over his stomach. He looked at Jasper and told the truth. "David is… quite a guy. He's tall, I guess. He's a dork. He hates it when I swear. Oh," he sat back up and Jasper looked at him. "One time, this cult leader who looked exactly like him showed up and tried to kill everyone."

"That's… not cool. Is everyone okay?"

"Well, he drank his own poison and we haven't seen him since. He didn't hurt anyone, but man was he creepy."

Jasper laughed a little and added a bright purple flower to the chain of mostly yellow. He wove the ends together and set it on Max's head. "There. Yellow for friendship, and purple for respect. Go with my blessing."

Max wasn't sure how to feel about being blessed by a ghost, a typically malevolent spirit, but Jasper was the nicest ghost he had ever met. "Thanks, I guess."

Jasper laughed and stuck a white flower behind his own ear. "You don't have to keep it."

"What does that one mean?" Max pointed vaguely at the flower in Jasper's hair.

"White flowers are for purity, or sympathy. This one is for death. I'm dead. I get a white flower."

Max blinked and furrowed his brow. "That doesn't seem fair. Why only one? Why do I get a whole crown?"

Jasper looked thoughtful for a second, then smiled again."Because I had time to make you one."

"Okay, so the different colors mean different things. What about this one?" Max picked up a red and white flower from the grass and slid the stem between his fingers, watching the top twirl like a dancer. He suddenly felt really sad and the emotion pressed at the back of his throat.

Jasper looked at the flower too, waiting until Max stopped spinning it. He reached out as if to touch it, but halted. "Oh boy, that's a complicated one."

Max had asked, and now he felt the need to follow through. His voice was cracking around the edges, but he got the words out. "Just tell me what it means."

"It's called an anemone." Jasper looked strained and hesitant, as if telling a terrible secret that would make Max hate him. "It means anticipation and good luck, but it also means abandonment and loneliness and mourning."

Max took a breath and stared at it for a while longer, then reached over to put it in Jasper's hair right over the white one. "There. Because you were even abandoned by your own body. You don't need to only have white flowers, that would be racist."

Jasper laughed and nodded. "So that's still a thing out there? Racism?"

Now Max was the one laughing. "Still a thing? It's _the_ thing. It's about as big a thing as LGBT rights and stuff."

"That's a thing, too? Man, I need to get off this island. I used to be all up in social justice."

They sat in silence for a while, both wanting to say something but not quite knowing what. Both of them were soon just lying in the grass, getting comfortable with the silence, looking up at the tiny pinpricks of blue among all the green.

Max turned to look at Jasper and his breath caught in his throat and he forgot what he was going to say.

The kid looked like some sort of hippie, with the flowers in his hair. His eyes were wide and blue and content. His lips sat in an organic smile, the kind that had been pulled out of the dirt instead of purchased in a plastic bag. His skin was white and smooth, almost like glass except that he didn't look at all fragile. The whole thing was lit with sunlight turned green by the filter of leaves. He looked like he had just grown there with the rest of the flowers. He glanced at Max and his smile widened without losing any of its naturalness.

Max was still struck by the simplistic beauty, but he slowly found his voice. "I should get going."

Jasper looked back at the leaves, but now his expression was more serious and pensive. He still looked like some sort of bohemian, hippie, fairy, earth god. It wasn't bad, though. It was just pastel and quiet and overflowing with positive energy. Max could use some of that.

He looked away and tried to convince himself he was fine. "Really. David and Gwen are going to start worrying pretty soon."

"I thought you said nobody cared about you. Now they'll worry about you if you're missing for one hour?" Jasper's voice was even and gentle.

Max sat up and pulled the ring of flowers out of his hair. "Come on, Jasper. You know what I mean. I have to go back or they'll think I don't like their wonderful camp."

Jasper's laugh was sweet and easy to listen longer he laughed, the more alive he looked. He sat up and put a hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, you're so close. Just open your mind and look around. They _do_ care. And even if they don't, I do. You don't have to take the flowers, but take my blessing and take this; I love everyone, and you're a part of everyone."

The words hung in the air like the echoes of a silver bell. Max wasn't sure how he felt, but whatever it was was strong. He looked down a the grass and smiled. "Thanks Jasper. I'll remember that."

They stood and Jasper walked with him back to where he had left his canoe.

"Well, I guess this is it. Thanks for visiting. Come back again sometime, okay?" Jasper still had the flowers in his hair and that smile on his face.

Max stood with his back to Camp Campbell. "Yeah. I think I'll do that."


	2. Chapter 2

Max stood with his back to Camp Campbell. He could hear Gwen shouting at him to come back, but he was too tired to deal with her. At least it wasn't David. He took way more energy to talk to than it was worth. The lake was still and reflected every cloud perfectly. The ripples from Max's canoe warped the image, but it settled back into stillness a moment later.

He reached the black stain in the middle of the lake and looked around. Jasper watched him from the edge of the woods.

"Hey, Ghost. Can I hide here for a while?"

Jasper just kept staring. After a second, he shook his head. "Get off my island."

Max stepped onto the sand that was really just tiny rocks pretending to be sand. "Come on, Jasper. I just need to get away from David and Gwen."

"Get off my island!" Jasper's whole body flickered like an old fluorescent light when he shouted. He radiated tension.

Max took a half step back and raised his hands. "Hey, I didn't mean to- ... can I just stay here for a little while?"

"No!" This time, the flickering continued for a few seconds. "Go away! Leave me alone!"

Something cold gripped Max's heart and he swallowed hard. He turned back to his canoe, but the minute he touched it he heard Jasper's voice again.

"Wait-! Don't go! Don't leave me here!" His voice snapped in half. "Please."

Max looked at Jasper and nodded. His heart melted and dripped down into his stomach. He didn't know a whole lot about ghosts, but he understood mood swings and he understood panic. "Okay. Okay, I'll stay here."

Jasper blinked a few times and looked down at his shoes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I just…"

"No, no, I get it." Max may not have been a certified therapist, but he was old enough to know when someone was broken. "You… don't have to pretend with me. I can take it. I have scars too."

Jasper didn't look up. He just shuffled across the ground and pulled Max into a hug. "Thank you."

His breath was ice cold, but he was solid enough. Max put a hand on his back and waited for a second before pulling away. "Okay. I think that's enough of that."

Jasper took a few shaky breaths and met Max's eyes. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I just- ...What did David say this time?"

Max started walking into the woods, kicking rocks out of his way as he went. "Not David. Gwen. She's kind of bossy and I don't think anybody likes her. She shouts a lot. I think she wants to leave."

"I'm sure she's just tired." Now that Jasper had calmed down, he started to look like a normal kid again.

When they got to the clearing, he turned back into that hippie earth god. He sat across from Max and showed him how to weave flowers together to make a chain. They talked about everything this side of the moon except for the things they were thinking about. They didn't talk about David and they didn't talk about what had just happened on the beach.

Max didn't say much. He found himself listening to Jasper's voice more than his words. Jasper had such a pretty voice; not the kind of voice you would expect a ghost to have. His eyes, on the other hand, were the ghostliest eyes Max had ever seen. They looked like a broken window, and every shard of glass reflected a different shade of blue. His lips moved like water and his teeth weren't quite straight.

"You're so pretty."

Jasper paused and looked up at Max. "What was that?"

Had he said that out loud? "Never mind. Go on."

Jasper laughed a little. It was like hearing the sun. "No, it's okay. I was rambling anyway."

Max glanced at the chain in his hands. He reached over and set it on Jasper's head. "There. Now you get a whole crown."

The crown made him glow. Jasper looked so at home among the trees and the flowers and the life, it really was a shame he wasn't part of it anymore. He smiled and looked as alive as anything. "Thank you. I love it."


	3. Chapter 3

Max kept his hands in his pockets. Partly because it felt comfortable and natural, and partly because he wanted to make sure he didn't forget himself and hold Jasper's hand.

The two walked along the dark trail without speaking. Jasper whistled an old folk song he had said was called The Unquiet Grave. Apparently, it was about a ghost whose lover's mourning was keeping them from resting in peace.

"Jasper, do you ever want to leave?"

The ghost stopped whistling and looked at the ground, then up at Max, then back at the ground. "It depends on what you mean by 'leave'. I mean, if you're just asking if I want to get off this island, then yes; all the time. But if you're asking if I ever think I'd be okay with passing over into eternity… I don't know. I think about it sometimes, but I don't know if I ever really _want_ to."

Max nodded. He didn't know why he had asked. He certainly hadn't expected to ask out loud. Now that they were talking, though, it would be more awkward to say nothing. "I feel that."

"Do you ever just wish you were your best friend? Like, I really want to _be_ Davy. I want to grow up and work at the camp and spend every day in the place that taught me how to be happy. He's so lucky."

Max nodded for the sake of nodding.

Jasper laughed. "But then, would Davy be the one stuck here? Would he go crazy with no one to talk to? Would he be okay? I'm really the only person I can trust to stay sane out here."

"Yeah…" Jasper was so nice. He cared about everyone so much. Max wondered for the first time how he had died. "If you could be alive again for one day, what would you do?"

"I don't know. There are a lot of things, I guess. I'd go home. I would sit on my back porch and tell my big sister it wasn't her fault. I would tell my mom she raised me just fine. I would tell David that he's important to a lot of people. I would… I wouldn't let anything stop me from doing the things I loved."

Max gave in and reached down to take Jasper's hand. It was cold. "That's a good answer."

The silence was mutual. No tension, no hesitation, just not saying anything.

Three minutes later, they came across a small cave. Max looked in and squinted into the hole. He couldn't see much. He blinked a few times and waited while his eyes adjusted to the dark. Not that it wasn't dark in the woods, just that the cave was darker.

When he could see, he almost wished he hadn't. At the back of the cave, there was a skeleton. Not like the ones you see in classrooms, all bleached and perfect. No. This one was small. This one had been lived in, and it didn't look like it had been cared for very well during that time. Four ribs on the same side had tiny cracks like someone had stepped on it. One of the legs was broken in two places. The smaller bone had a patch of fissures that looked like a spiderweb, and the bigger one was cracked about halfway up.

Jasper took in a sharp breath and grabbed Max's shoulder.

Max looked at him.

Jasper's breathing was short and shallow and he was flickering again. His eyes were searching Max's face for some sign of hope. "Max. I'm not okay. I think I'm going to die."

"You already-"

"I _know!_ I know I'm already dead! That's what scares me. I think… I think that's me."

Max looked back at the bones. That sounded right, but… "I thought you died in the mansion."

"I know. I know. Whoever killed me must have tossed the body outside. Some wild animal must have dragged it here."

"Who killed you?" Max knew it was a bad question before he asked it, but it was too late.

"I don't know! I don't-" Jasper choked on a sob and Max realized he was crying. "I don't remember. All I know is that I was scared. I was alone in that basement for a long time, Max. Like, a month. It was scary. I died in there."

Max slowly put his arms around Jasper and let him shake and flicker and cry. He decided that if he ever had to kill someone, he would make sure he didn't give them time to be afraid. Jasper didn't deserve to die. Some horrible person had killed him and stolen something precious from the world. "Jasper?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Would you… would you like me to bury the bones?"

Jasper looked up with something like awe in his face. "You would do that for me?"

Max put his hands back in his pockets and shrugged. "Yeah. Where do you want your grave?"

Jasper looked into the cave. "Under the flagpole by the mess hall."


	4. Chapter 4

Max sat in the back of the canoe and pulled back on the oars. Jasper's bones lay on the other seat and Jasper sat on the stern.

The journey was silent and somber. Max didn't want to break the moment, and he didn't know what he would say anyway. He was rowing a ghost across the lake so they could bury the ghost's skeleton. This was the most hardcore thing he had ever done.

They reached the dock and Max gathered the bones into his arms. Jasper picked up the ones Max couldn't carry and they made their way to the mess hall.

As they walked, Max still couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but he wasn't sure how to do that without sounding disrespectful. The camp was strangely deserted. Everyone must have been eating supper or something.

Max carefully set the bones under the flagpole and glanced back at Jasper.

Jasper put the bones he was carrying next to the ones Max had just set down and looked up at the flag. He was fighting back tears and it looked like he was losing.

Max stood there for a second, not quite sure what to do. He looked at the ground and then at Jasper. "I'll go get a shovel."

The Quartermaster's store was empty. That was good. There was a shovel right next to the door.

Max got back to find Jasper arranging the bones into their original order. He sighed and stuck the shovel into the ground. "Jasper. Are you ready to lay these bones to rest?"

Jasper looked up and nodded. He stood and smiled at Max. "Let's do this."

The ground was soft from this morning's rain, especially as he dug deeper. He figured he didn't have to go the full six feet, because no animal would be very interested in bare bones. He got about two feet down over an area big enough for the body.

Jasper placed his own skull at the top of the hole and he and Max moved one bone at a time until the whole skeleton was lying in the grave.

Max stood back and surveyed the scene. "I guess I should say something, right?"

Jasper nodded.

"Well, I didn't get a chance to meet Jasper before he died, but… he's a pretty great guy. From what I'm told, he was a nice kid. From what I've seen, he's really chill and just wants the best for people. Now I'm here to return the favor. I'm not a priest, and I don't believe in any greater force or anything, but I hope he finds rest wherever his spirit ends up."

Jasper wiped the tears off his face and nodded wordlessly.

Max picked the shovel back up and threw some dirt onto the bones.

By the time the body was buried, Jasper had composed himself enough to say full sentences again. "We have to mark the grave."

"You're right. I'll go see if David has something we can write with." Max started for the door and stopped with his hand on the handle. He looked back at Jasper. "Do you want to come with me?"

"No. No, I'll stay here."

"Suit yourself." Max went into the mess hall and, sure enough, everyone was just finishing up supper. He walked right across to David and cleared his throat to get the counselor's attention.

David jumped and turned to look at the source of the sound. "Oh, Max! There you are! Where have you been? You had us worried sick!"

"I need to borrow a marker."

David pulled a permanent marker out of his pocket and slowly handed it to Max. "Just don't vandalize the whole camp, okay Max?"

Max nodded and walked right back outside. "Hey, Jasper, what year were you born?"

Jasper thought for a second, then nodded. "Ninety-two. Man, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Max picked up a rock the size of his hand. "Okay, and your last name… is what again?"

"It's- ...it's... " Jasper's shoulders dropped and he shook his head. "Wow. I can't believe I forgot my own name."

"Okay, just Jasper, then." Max uncapped the marker. "What year did you die?"

"Two-thousand three. I know that one."

"There. Done."

Jasper smiled at the makeshift headstone and nodded. "Yeah. It's over."

 _RIP Jasper_

 _1992-2003_


	5. Epilogue

Jasper hung around for a few days trying to find closure, walking aimlessly around camp. After a week of excuses, he decided to stay. He didn't know for how long, but at the very least for the rest of the summer.

David took a while to get used to having the ghost of his childhood friend around. Once he did accept it, he treated Jasper like any other camper. Everyone jokingly said that he was here for Spiritual Camp.

Max would still go out into the woods alone and run into Jasper. The two of them found a new secret clearing. They talked openly with each other there. No secrets. No holding back. Jasper still looked like a god, but now he looked happy. It was in that clearing that Max realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jasper. He wanted to wake up every morning and see that smile and hear that laugh. He wanted to hold that hand until the day he died and maybe longer. He wanted to hold Jasper's heart the way Jasper had stolen his.

One day, just before the summer ended, Max gave Jasper a ring he had made out of violets. Two white ones for purity, and a blue one for true love.

Jasper cried.


End file.
